Telescoping wall mounting bracket for electrical racks

ABSTRACT

The telescoping wall mounting bracket comprises a foot adapted to be wall-secured, to which is permanently fixed the smaller of two telescoping members. The larger telescoping member surrounds the smaller, and telescopic extension is limited by cables attached between the members. The larger member is securable into an electrical rack structure, or into supporting means therefor so that the rack structure can be moved away from or toward the wall upon which it is mounted for access to the rear thereof or general adjustment of the spatial separation of the structure relative to the wall.

United States Patent 1 Drake [451 Jan. 16, 1973 s41 TELESCOPING WALLMOUNTHNG 3,235,296 2/1966 Day ..287/58 CT BRACKET FOR ELECTRICAL RACKS323 32? 13 T g "gig/i8; i can an 1 lnvemofi Klng Dmke, L08 Angeles,Callf- 2,858,180 10/1958 Tashjian et al.. ..312/7 R x 2,486,764 11/1949Singer 312/7 R UX [73] Assgnee' g l Chatswonh 2,949,506 8/1960 Abbottetal.... .....179/91 R x 1,863,376 6/1932 Kesslere'tal.... .....179 91 R22 Filed; N 1 1970 2,769,940 11/1956 Rettit ..3.17/120 pp 90,838 PrimaryExaminerJ. Franklin Foss Related U.S. Application Data Attorney-AllanShapiro [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 814,723, April 9, 1969, [57]ABSTRACT abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 634,313 April 271967 Pat. No. 3,468,429. The telescoping wall mounting bracket comprisesa foot adapted to be wall-secured, to which is per- [52] U S Cl 248/298179/91 211/87 manently fixed the smaller of two telescoping'mem- 237i7/00 bers. The larger telescoping member surrounds the [58] a /58 CTsmaller, and telescopic extension is limited by cables 317/99 "i'.'211/87 13 attached between the members. The larger member is securableinto an electrical rack structure, or into supporting means therefor sothat the rack structure can be moved away from or toward the wall uponwhich it [56] References Claw is mounted for access to the rear thereofor general UNITED STATES PATENTS adljutstmentflpf thel spatialseparation of the structure re a we to e wa 3,468,429 9/1969 Drake..3l7/99 X 1,459,602 6/1923 Relerson ..211/88 6 Claims, 8 DrawingFigures PATENTEDJAH 1s m INVENTOR. KING .8. Beam;

TELESCOPING WALL MOUNTING BRACKET FOR ELECTRICAL RACKS CROSS-REFERENCESThis application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No.814,723, filed Apr. 9, 1969, now abandoned, which was acontinuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 634,313, filedApr. 27, 1967, now US. Pat. No. 3,468,429, issued Sept. 23, 1969.

BACKGROUND THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention isdirected to a. telescoping wall mounting bracket for electrical racks,and particularly for racks which are adapted to carry structure whichrequires access to both the front and back thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art Electrical racks are well knownconvenient structures for the mounting and the interconnection ofelectronic components. Electronic racks are widely used in all types ofelectrical equipment wherein the equipment is expensive or complex. Forexample, computers are virtually entirely made up of rack-mountedcomponents. Another field of rack-mounted, electrical equipment is thatof telephone circuitry. Central office equipment is entirelyrack-mounted, and much rack mounting is employed in office buildings andother 10- cations where there is a considerable amount of telephoneequipment. For example, modern office buildings have a telephoneequipment room on each floor. Despite the fact that space is set asidefor such equipment, it is clear that the equipment must occupy littlespace, for floor space in such buildings is valuable. For this reasons,as well as the convenience of harness wiring equipment, telephonecompanies have employed rack mounting of equipment for many years.However, it is necessary that access be provided to both sides ofrack-mounted equipment. Such access to both sides is particularlydifficult in those cases where floor space limitations suggest mountingthe rack directly upon the wall or to the floor, and the latter methodis not alwyas available or convenient. Accordingly, prior wall-mountingstructures have provided means which are cumbersome and unsatisfactoryfor reaching both sides of the equipment due to the fixed mounting ofthe rack to either the wall or floor or both.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to aid in the understanding of thisinvention, it can be stated in essentially summary form that it isdirected to a telescoping wall-mounting bracket for electrical racks.The bracket comprises inner and outer telescoping members, with theinner member being adapted to be secured to the wall. The outer memberis adapted to be secured to rack mounting structure so that the rackmounting structure accommodates this portion of the telescoping deviceand acts as a guide for the wall-mounted portion. Stop means engages thetwo telescoping portions to prevent their total separation, and thusprevents the rack from becoming uncontrolled by bracket separation.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a telescopingwall-mounting bracket for electrical racks. It is another object toprovide a bracket having telescoping halves, one of which is adapted tobe secured to a wall, and the other half of which is adapted to besecured to a supported rack. It is still another object to provideinter-engaging stop means between the portions of the telescopingstructure so that total separation is prevented. It is still anotherobject to provide wall-mounting means for the inner half of thetelescoping bracket, and rack-mounting means on the outer half of thetelescoping bracket so that the outer half serves as a guide whichslides over the inner, wallmounted half. It is still another object ofthis invention to provide a bracket which permits the electrical rackmounted thereon to be selectively positioned with respect to the wall,so that racks having different depths of electrical equipment can beaccommodated.

Still other objects, features and attendant advantages of the presentinvention, together with various modifications, will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from a reading of the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiment constructed in accordancetherewith, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings whereinlike numerals designate like parts in the several figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showingtwo of the telescoping, wall-mounting brackets for electrical racks asinstalled and carrying rack-mounting structure thereon.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section, with parts broken away, showing furtherdetail of the telescoping wallmounting bracket of this invention, in theclosed position.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, showing the bracket in the extendedposition.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the stop structure, showing the stopstructure with the telescoping members in the closed position.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the stop structure with thetelescoping members in their fully extended position.

FIG. 7 is a section taken generally along line 77 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a section on reduced scale taken generally along line 8-8 ofFIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The telescoping wall-mountingbracket for electrical racks is generally indicated in the drawings at10. FIG. 1 illustrates electrical equipment 12 in broken lines, mountedupon racks which are secured in a frame 18. Frame members defining theedges of the frame are indicated at 14 and 16. The frame members 14 and16 are connected top and bottom to form a rigid frame 18.

The electrical equipment is suitably mounted on the frame, which mayinclude a center board to which equipment and connectors are attachedboth front and back, or may comprise equipment which is positionedbetween the frame members to extend both front and back of the frame.

In telephone service, quite often a center board is used, or a doublecenter board which has a wireway therebetween. Relays are secured inbanks to one side of this center structure while terminal boards aresecured to the other. In this manner, the equipment and its connectionsare closely associated with each other and furthermore are sufficientlyclose to provide for convenient interconnecting wiring. If desired, suchunits can be factory pre-assembled. However, it is clear that such unitsrequire access to both sides for maintenance of the relays and foraccess to the terminal boards for cable connection.

In the embodiment illustrated, partial access to both sides is providedby hinging frame 18. Post 20 is a rectangular tube to which frame member14 is hingeably secured. The hinge arrangement permits the right-handside of frame 18, away from the hinges, to swing away from the wall.Such may provide for clear access to the equipment toward frame member16 but not to the equipment adjacent frame member 14 since the latterstays fairly close to the wall. Furthermore, such a structure does notprovide for variability of the distance between frame member 18 and thewall which distance should depend upon the depth of the equipment on therear of frame 18. Still further, one or more banks of comparableequipment racks may be located in front of frame 18 so as to prevent anyhinged access at all.

Telescoping wall mounting bracket is provided to obtain and isappropriately mounted for additional flexibility of mounting of frame18. Bracket 10 comprises base plate 22 which has holes therein forsecurement of base plate 22 against wall 26 by any appropriate fastening means 28, such as lagscrews. Of course, the type of fastening devicedepends entirely upon the character of wall 26. An appropriate securingmeans is used in accordance with the nature of the wall material.

Post 30, as seen particularly in FIGS. 3 and 4, is the inner telescopingmember, and is secured to base plate 22. As is seen in FIG. 4, post 30is preferably tubular, to provide the maximum rigidity for a particularweight. Post 30 is of an appropriate length to provide the desiredamount of telescopic extension of the bracket 10 consistent with enoughoverlap in the fully extended position to provide the proper strength.Tube 32 is the outer member of the telescoping pair. Tube 32 has a boreof such configuration and size as to fit over, in telescopic slidingrelationship, the base plate mounted post 30. Thus, telescopicextensibility is achieved. Tube 32 is preferably of such length as to beslightly longer than the depth of frame post 20. Thus, it can liesubstantially entirely within frame post and extend from adjacent thefront wall of the tube of frame post 20 through an appropriate opening34 in the rear wall thereof.

Securement of tube 32 in frame post 20 is accomplished by cross bolt 36which extends through frame post 20 and through appropriate transverseholes in the end of telescoping tube 32 which is away from base plate22. The positioning of telescoping tube32 in opening 34 provides acertain amount of flexibility so that self-alignment can be achieved. Itis seen that, since tube 32 is mounted upon and in frame post 20,telescoping tube 32 serves as a guide into frame post 20: The inversionof this structure would not be as satisfactory with a larger tubemounted upon base plate 22 and the smaller mounted in frame post 20.Mounting problems appear which are obviated by the illus trated andpreferred construction.

A stop is required to prevent tube 32 from falling completely offtelescopic post 30 with consequent loss of control or management offrame 18 and its equipment. Stopping or limiting of telescoping isaccomplished by means of stop cable 38. Stop cable 38 is preferably afairly flexible, strong cable, such as a steel cable. It is looped to anappropriate length and carries end securement clamp 40 adjacent one end.As is seen in FIGS. 3-6, clamp 40 forms stop cable 38 into a small loopand a large loop.

Pin 42 passes through telescoping tube 32 adjacent its securing crossbolt 36 and passes through the small loop of stop cable38. Similarly,pin 44 is engaged in the walls of telescoping post 30 and passes throughthe large loop in stop cable 38. Both pins 42 and 44 are secured intheir respective tubes to provide rigid stop means against which thestop cable 38 can act.

Telescoping post 30 and tube 32, cable 38 and the positions of pins 42and 44 are dimensioned so that, when the telescoping bracket iscompressed into the position shown in FIG. 3, the pins and cables do notinterfere with full telescoping. Additionally, there is a dimension suchthat, when telescoping tube 32 is pulled out to the maximum desireddistance on post 30, stop cable 38 draws taut on pins 42 and 44 toprevent further motion. It should be noted that the large loop of thestop cable is sufficiently short so that no cable bending is necessaryto permit telescoping retraction. Thus, the loop simply slides over pin44 and the tube and post are telescoped with respect to each other.

Lock bolt 46 is threadedly engaged in tube 32 and is positioned toengage and lock against post 30 when it is tightened. Lock bolt 46 thusprovides means to lock the telescoping tubes of the bracket of thisinvention with respect to each other so that full securement is achievedin any desired position.

When a serviceman approaches electrical equipment 12, he can hinge theelectrical equipment away from wall 26 by simple hinging between framemember 14 and frame post 20. However, in order to obtain maximum workingspace, the serviceman normally unlocks lock bolt 46 and pulls frame post20 forward, away from the wall, to the maximum extension of stop cables38. If desired, he thereupon locks lock bolt 46 to prevent telescopingaction during service operations. Thereupon, the serviceman can swingframe 18 outwardly to provide a maximum of space to the front and rearthereof. I

After service is complete, the serviceman swings frame 18 back, parallelto the wall. He unlocks lock bolt 46, if they are tightened, and hepresses the entire frame 18 back toward the wall. In those cases wherenew equipment was added to the back side of the equipment section, theframe may remain a farther distance from the wall to provide adequateclearance therefor. In any event, the frame is moved backward toward thewall to an appropriate distance in accordance with the equipment mountedthereon, the required ventilation and other equipment considerations.Any desired spacing can be obtained, consistent with the equipment needsby the utilization of the telescoping wall mounting bracket of thisinvention. Thus, the equipment can be properlypositioned. Differences inequipment depth and/or rack location are illustrated in broken lines inFIG. 2. After positioning of the equipment at the proper distance fromthe wall,

lock bolts 46 are tightened to again lock the structure in the desiredposition until further servicing becomes necessary.

In view of the telescopic feature of the wall mounting bracket of thisinvention, it is not necessary to employ a hinge structure with thetelescoping bracket. Instead, the telescoping wall-mounting bracket isequally applicable when it is directly applied to frame member 14. insuch a case, the entire frame 18 moves outwardly from the wall on thetelescoping brackets. Such is satisfactory when the telescoping wallmounting brackets provide a sufficient telescoping length to provide vadequate access to the rear of the panel. As described above,appropriate design provides the desired telescoping distance. Thus, thebrackets can be employed with or without associated hinging of theelectrical rack frame.

It is important to note that the bracket foot or base plate 22 need notbe vertically oriented, as illustrated, but may be rotated with its post30 as much as 90 in either direction about the longitudinal axis of thepost and within the tube 32 so as to be located in any desiredorientation, thus permitting attachment to structural members which maybe within the wall in non-aligned positions, avoidance of obstructionson the wall, and so forth. Such relative rotation is easily permitted bythe flexibility of cable 38 and does not interfere with the longitudinalmovement of cable 38 relative to pin 44.

This invention having been described in its preferred embodiment, it isclear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications and embodimentswithin the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exerciseof the inventive faculty.

What is claimed is:

l. Telescoping, wall-mounting bracket means for mounting a frame for thesupport of electrical racks, which frame has an upright frame member,said frame being hingedly mounted to an upright post, said bracket meansbeing for mounting said upright post with respect to a wall, saidbracket means comprising upper and lower brackets mounted on said postand securable to a wall, the improvement wherein each said bracketcomprises:

a first telescoping member;

a second telescoping member, said second telescoping memberinter-engaging with said first telescoping member so that the overalllength of said first and second telescoping members is selectable;

stop means inter-engaged between said telescoping members, said stopmeans limiting the relative motion of said first and second telescopingmembers to a predetermined minimum overall length; wall-mounting meanson one of said telescoping members, said wall-mounting means adaptingsaid telescoping member to wall mounting thereof; and mounting means onthe other telescoping member, said mounting means being connected tosaid post so that the rack hingedly mounted on said post can besupported with respect to a wall in telescoping arrangement with respectthereto whereby the distance from the rack to the wall can be selected:2. The telescoping, wall-mounting bracket of claim 1 wherein saidtelescoping member carrying a wall mounting means thereon comprises aninner member,

and said telescoping means carrying mounting means thereon comprises anouter tube in engagement with and telescopically sliding over said innermember, said outer tube being adapted to be positioned in and secured tothe frame of an electrical rack.

3. The telescoping, wall-mounting bracket of claim 2 wherein said innermember is tubular and a pin extends across said inner tubular member, apin extends across said outer tube, and limit means engaging around bothof said pins, said limit means limiting the maximum telescopingdimension between said tubes.

4. The telescoping, wall-mounting bracket of claim 3 wherein saidlimiting means comprises a looped metallic cable extending around bothof said pins so that said cable becomes taut when said outer tube istelescoped' to maximum dimension away from said mounting means on saidinner tubular member.

5. The telescoping, wall-mounting bracket of claim 4 wherein a lock boltis engaged between said telescoping tubes so that said tubes can belocked with respect to each other to prevent telescoping motion.

6. The telescoping, wall-mounting bracket of claim 2 wherein saidupright post to which said upper and lower brackets are attached is inthe form of an upright hollow post, an opening in the wall of said post,said outer telescoping member extending through said opening and intosaid post and being secured within said post, said opening being largerthan said outer telescoping member so as to permit angular flexiblity ofsaid outer telescoping member with respect to said hollow upright post.

1. Telescoping, wall-mounting bracket means for mounting a frame for thesupport of electrical racks, which frame has an upright frame member,said frame being hingedly mounted to an upright post, said bracket meansbeing for mounting said upright post with respect to a wall, saidbracket means comprising upper and lower brackets mounted on said postand securable to a wall, the improvement wherein each said bracketcomprises: a first telescoping member; a second telescoping member, saidsecond telescoping member inter-engaging with said first telescopingmember so that the overall length of said first and second telescopingmembers is selectable; stop means inter-engaged between said telescopingmembers, said stop means limiting the relative motion of said first andsecond telescoping members to a predetermined minimum overall length;wall-mounting means on one of said telescoping members, saidwall-mounting means adapting said telescoping member to wall mountingthereof; and mounting means on the other telescoping member, saidmounting means being connected to said post so that the rack hingedlymounted on said post can be supported with respect to a wall intelescoping arrangement with respect thereto whereby the distance fromthe rack to the wall can be selected.
 2. The telescoping, wall-mountingbracket of claim 1 wherein said telescoping member carrying a wallmounting means thereon comprises an inner member, and said telescopingmeans carrying mounting means thereon comprises an outer tube inengagement with and telescopically sliding over said inner member, saidouter tube being adapted to be positioned in and secured to the frame ofan electrical rack.
 3. The telescoping, wall-mounting bracket of claim 2wherein said inner member is tubular and a pin extends across said innertubular member, a pin extends across said outer tube, and limit meansengaging around both of said pins, said limit means limiting the maximumtelescoping dimension between said tubes.
 4. The telescoping,wall-mounting bracket of claim 3 wherein said limiting means comprises alooped metallic cable extending around both of said pins so that saidcable becomes taut when said outer tube is telescoped to maximumdimension away from said mounting means on said inner tubular member. 5.The telescoping, wall-mounting bracket of claim 4 wherein a lock bolt isengaged between said telescoping tubes so that said tubes can be lockedwith respect to each other to prevent telescoping motion.
 6. Thetelescoping, wall-mounting bracket of claim 2 wherein said upright postto which said upper and lower brackets are attached is in the form of anupright hollow post, an opening in the wall of said post, said outertelescoping member extending through said opening and into said post andbeing secured within said post, said opening being larger than saidouter telescoping member so as to permit angular flexiblity of saidouter telescoping member with respect to said hollow upright post.